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Listening to radio while driving can be dangerous

Listening to radio updates can deviate your attention, which can be fatal.

Listening to traffic reports on the radio could be so dangerous for your driving that you could even miss an elephant standing by the side of the road, warns a study.

‘Anything that draws our attention away from driving can be problematic, even if it's auditory like listening to the radio or having a hands-free phone conversation,’ said one of the researchers Gillian Murphy of University College Cork in Ireland.

The researcher applied a prominent theory of attention, Perceptual Load Theory, to driving, a task where attention is crucial.

Perceptual Load Theory states that we have a finite amount of attention and that once that capacity is maxed out, we cannot process anything else.

To test whether paying attention to radio traffic reports can be bad for our driving, Murphy asked 36 people to drive a route in a full-sized driving simulator while listening to a traffic update on the radio.

While driving, 18 participants were asked to complete a simple task and 18 to complete a complex task. The simple task was to listen for when the voice giving the update changed gender. The complex task was to listen for news of a particular road.

The study found that only 23 percent of the drivers undertaking the complex task noticed a large, unexpected visual stimulus -- an elephant or gorilla by the side of the road.

By contrast, 71 percent of the drivers undertaking the simpler task noticed it.

Drivers undertaking the complex task were also worse at obeying road signs, remembering which vehicle had just passed them and even at driving itself. Their speed, lane position and reaction times to hazards were all affected.

The findings were presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Nottingham in Britain.

‘Road safety campaigns are so focused on telling us to keep our eyes on the road, and this is certainly important, but this research tells us that it's simply not enough. We should focus on keeping our brains on the road,’ Murphy said.

Barcelona forward Neymar has revealed his ambitions to play in the Premier League, admitting desire to play under Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho.

The 25-year-old arrived at the Camp Nou in 2013 from Santos and has gone on to form a formiddable partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the deadly attack combo, but there were reports last summer that the Brazilian was considering his future at the Camp Nou, with suggestions of a move to the Premier League or Paris Saint Germain being in the offing.

Neymar in a recent interview with the Sun, confessed his love for the Premier League and even revealed his desire to play under Guardiola or Mourinho.

He said: “The Premier League is a championship that amazes me.

“I like the playing style and the teams. And who knows, someday, I would like to play at it, yes.

“I admire Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool — these are the teams that are always there fighting.